


Xenosaga: The Quiescent Will

by Thus_Spoke_She



Category: Xenosaga
Genre: F/M, Multi, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-05-13 06:56:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14744075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thus_Spoke_She/pseuds/Thus_Spoke_She
Summary: Chosen to have a front row seat to the events of the first game, a girl does everything she can to get back home and to "change".





	1. Deep in Abyss

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for checking out my fic! This is a complete re-visioning of the first fanfic I wrote ten years ago which is still up on fanfiction.net (link in my profile). I hope everyone enjoys this story and I would love to hear from you~

**Chapter One: Deep in Abyss**

\----

It was a dark and stormy night, perfect weather for reading or relaxing—to some people. To others, it was perfect for a good video game session. Shane Lee sat in front of her television, PlayStation 2 controller in hand, a bowl of chips, and a bottle of strawberry soda near reaching distance. Her concentration was focused, unbreakable from the screen before her. The final boss, Sophie Peithos, was giving her hell—as expected; her final party was of a decent level but not quite enough to cause any major damage. This didn’t deter Shane, however. This made her giddy and more determined to defeat the boss. Not to mention the amount of times she buffed her party’s status was helping her out as well.

Rubbing her palms on her dark sweatpants, the young woman continued her battle. Everything was going her way.

Last two turns.

The next couple strikes will finish it once and for all!

\--Or that would have been the case if not for a sudden flash of light outside Shane’s window followed by a loud crash of thunder, shaking the entire house. The lights went out soon after and the young woman’s patience with it.

“Oh come on!” the dark-skinned girl hissed before grabbing her phone by her left leg, turning on the flashlight app. The house was still, other than the obvious sound of rain and wind outside. Shane had stood up and wandered out of her room. The time on her phone read a minute past midnight (had it really been that late?). Everyone in the house was asleep and often slept through tough storms like this.

Everyone except for Shane.

Storms had always terrified her as a child. She was getting older now and the storms didn’t bother her too much. But it always worried her about her pets outside.

In the rain. In the dark. Were they okay?

Shane wondered if she was being reasonable in her thought process. It didn’t stop her from grabbing a hooded jacket and her rain boots, eventually making her way to the back door of the darkened house; the only light sources being her cellphone and brief flashes of lightning. The young woman took a deep breath before pulling on her hood and stepping outside in the dark.

  
\----

  
Rain and wind slapped Shane in her face as low rumbles of thunder off in the distance acted like a warning signal or a prelude to something. She immediately felt regret at her decision in the pit of her stomach. While it was fun to be outside during a storm like this one, Shane didn’t care much for the rain (nor the risk of getting struck by lightning). But that was besides the point. What mattered was the safety of her dogs.

“Joker! Rufus! Where are you?!” the young woman called out as she made her way around the house. Shielding her eyes from the rain and shining the light toward the trees surrounding the outside of the backyard, she attempted to listen for her pets. Nothing. Except for more wind. Shane called out to the dogs once more as another flash of lightning brightened the night sky followed by a loud, resounding boom of thunder.

But the thunder didn’t stop.

The wet ground beneath her boots shook violently, causing Shane to fall over with a surprised yelp. ‘What the hell?’ she thought to herself. ‘Why is the ground shaking? Is it an earthquake?!’ The dark-skinned girl felt the ground’s shaking subside as soon as it had started and pushed herself to stand up, sighing in relief.

“Well, that was interesting.” Shane shook her head before bending down to grab her phone. Thankfully, the flashlight app was still on and a bit wet (the battery at a full charge). She moved the light along the ground and moved it towards the garage right behind the house. Squinting her eyes, the young woman noticed the garage door was open (it was one of those older garages with the swinging door instead of the rising door and was used mainly as storage). More than likely, the storm had blown the door open as it was never locked (that needed to be fixed) and.. did she hear _whimpering_?

Shane strained her ears to listen again over the wind and rain. The sound definitely was whimpering and it was echoing out from the garage. The dogs probably sought out shelter from the rain, Shane thought. That fact settled her heart but, just to be sure, she wanted to make sure they were okay (besides being wet and scared). “Hang on, you two! I’m here!”

Running towards the building, the young woman heard the familiar rumble of thunder above her and steeled herself for that inevitable flash of lightning.

The lightning, however, flashed rather brightly. Brighter than usual.

Shane shielded her eyes in surprise and stumbled to a stop. “Ah, what the hell--?!” Her eyes burned from the lightning flash as dark spots danced behind her eyelids. The young woman angrily muttered under her breath, turning towards her left to kneel down. It slowly dawned on her that she couldn’t hear the sounds of the storm around her anymore nor feel the rain falling down on her. Shane did briefly hear the sounds of voices.

Familiar voices.

But why would she be hearing the voices from her game? The voices were far off, distant. But she knew. The question remained as to why? Moving her hands down from her face, the young woman blinked the dark spots from her eyes and stood up. No longer was she outside but stood in an area of pure white emptiness; no longer standing on moist, wet ground but stood on a solid white surface (a floor?). Shane pulled the hood off her dark hair, a sigh of disbelief escaping her as her eyes scanned the area. There was nothing. Nothing at all. Except for one solitary person—a child--who stood a couple feet away.

Shane narrowed her eyes in mild surprise. There was no way, _right_? Her mouth worked, attempting to find the words to speak. She took a deep breath before finally the child, dressed in white, spoke up:

“You’ve been chosen,” the child said softly.

The young woman hesitated, her breath leaving her and took a single step forward. Chosen? Cryptic but very concerning. “Um… what are you talking about?” Shane paused before continuing, “Where are we? What do you mean I’ve been ‘chosen’? By who, Nephillim?”

“By the one who sleeps,” the orange haired girl answered in kind. “With your very existence, you could change who you are.”

An apprehensive feeling caused Shane’s stomach to flip onto itself. Did Nephillim really mean that? Could she truly change? The dark-skinned girl swallowed down the growing sense of unease before stepping forward once again. “What the hell are you talking about--” It didn’t dawn on her that she was being drawn closer to the child standing before her. Neither did Shane notice Nephillim was becoming transparent. She had leaned forward to touch the child’s shoulder, watching in shock as her hand went through and outward. Shane’s feet lost balance, tripping over another.

Shane registered she was falling through the orange haired girl (how?) but where the white floor had been had changed to black—an abyss of darkness in front of her. A cry of absolute fear escaped her. _Where the **FUCK** did the hole come from?!_ Panicking, the young woman turned towards Nephillim and felt the surface drop from under her as she cursed loudly (“Oh **FUCK** -!”). Shane reached out on reflex to what she perceived as the edge of the abyss, her eyes drawn down to the inky black below. She briefly mourned the loss of her phone, watching it fall--still lit from the flashlight app—before looking up with a shaky breath.

She heard herself hissing ‘what the fuck’ repeatedly and locked eyes with the orange-haired child. Nephillim simply stared back at Shane, blue eyes focused but there was nothing seemingly behind them. “What the fuck is this?” the older girl gasped out. “Why is this happening?!” Shane felt her grip slipping, her arms growing exhausted with each passing second. For a moment, Nephillim is silent. But her next words filled the dark-skinned girl with a spiraling drop of dread:

“You will know soon enough.”

With those words spoken, Shane Lee’s grasp fails and she falls down, down, down into the dark. She feels the screams of fright tear from her throat, hearing voices again only they are unfamiliar: some are screaming with her, some happen to be speaking normally, the volume growing louder. The voices reach to a distressing cacophony of unintelligible noise until everything goes silent in the surrounding dark. Only one voice remained and it’s the last one Shane hears:

 _“I’m so sorry.”_  
\----------  
**Author’s Notes** : I’m very sorry this dragged out much longer than I anticipated (working on it took longer as well). Thank you for reading this first chapter in a complete and faithful revision of Shane and her stories in the world of Xenosaga! Kudos and reviews are much loved. I’ll be working on a schedule for chapter updates regarding this one and The Strange Journey (the FFXV fic).


	2. Chapter 2: Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

**Chapter Two** : Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

\---------

Shane wasn’t sure how long she was in the dark. She wondered if she had finally hit the bottom of the abyss and died—SPLAT! Before that horrible thought, however, her mind was.. empty and attempting to comprehend what had transpired: she was outside in the rain during a storm and was engulfed by white light. She was then in a strange place; white nothingness surrounding her and came across an equally strange girl that she was pretty sure wasn’t real and only existed in a game. That, plus the falling down a pit of darkness (maybe she was still falling?) wasn’t her greatest achievement which was neither here nor there at this point. It felt like she was still falling only she had somehow curled up into a fetal position, knees against her chest and her forehead tucked into the gap of her knees.

So I probably haven’t stopped, Shane surmised. The air around her had begun to drop in temperature steadily as her breathing slowed, her throat tightening in the process. The familiar feeling of dread filled her once again—overwhelmingly so. Millions of questions ran through her mind: why was this happening to her? Where was she falling down into (besides the dark)? Why was it _**her**_?

**WHY WHY WHY WHY--**

Shane soon felt a cold, almost prickly-like feeling blossom in the pit of her stomach. This was it. She was dying. Dying in the dark, alone. Her panic had risen considerably at this thought but then she felt suddenly warm.

_Warm?_

Multiple layers of warmth surrounded her freezing frame and Shane felt fresh (oh so sweet) air fill her lungs. She was saved! But how? Her hearing slowly returned, bringing with it a pounding headache that reached from the front to the back of her head—the absolute worst. The young woman could tell people were speaking (perhaps she was hearing voices again?) but couldn’t understand what they were saying, much to her dismay. She did feel that her ears were filled with something which could only mean that she was becoming sick.

That’s nice, Shane thought with an inward grimace.

A couple moments pass as Shane, to her amazement, regained her hearing. The voices of the people who saved her sounded far off in the distance but loud enough to hear. They spoke of concern for the young woman and how she somehow ended up outside in a case. A case… like a coffin?! A feminine voice had wondered if Shane was an unfortunate victim of a sinking ship but the other voices—mixed--had disagreed due to their location. But where exactly was here? That question wouldn’t be answered right away as she listened to the curious voices and her own consciousness fade out.

\----------

  
Shane was slipping in and out of her seemingly unending sleep (she prayed that she would never ever complain about not getting enough naps again). Slowly, she opened her eyes and noticed that she was moving or being moved. She lamented at the fact her eyesight was choosing to act up—first her ears and now her eyes. Blurred and unfocused, Shane could make out round lights above her as she counted them, shadows on either side of her. The feeling of sleep tugged at her mind but she did however question once more where the hell she was.

Again, no answer to that unfortunately.

  
\----------

_The young woman stood beneath a single pale light, surrounded by darkness. She had to be dreaming now, Shane thought. She glanced around her surroundings warily before the hairs on the back of her neck stood up._

_Someone was behind her._

_Slowly, even more wary, Shane turned around to face whatever it was. It was a woman with long, cascading red hair that reached her ankles, her back to the young woman. “Who are you?” she asked swallowing down the worry. Her voice wavered just slightly once she had asked. The red-haired woman lifted her head slightly, turning her gaze as the surrounding area was suddenly engulfed in white light._

  
\----------  
As she came to, Shane’s ears perked up at the sound of an older man’s voice. The tone the man used was condescending, mocking even while he spoke to someone else in the room. “How are you feeling, 100-Series Realian? Is the food here unsatisfactory?” She knew the man’s voice, gravelly and ever so ‘evil sounding’. He even sounded concerned in a way. Whoever he was speaking to remained silent. “Are the Federation’s 100-Series Realians so ill-mannered that they don’t even reply to simple questions?”

Shane felt the side of the bed she laid in (thank god, a soft and solid surface) move lightly, a young girl’s voice responding to the man: “I don’t like that name.”

“Well, my goodness, pardon me,” the man answered as if his feelings were truly hurt. “And what would you like to be called, Miss 100-Series Realian?”

A sudden urge to throttle the man entered the dark-skinned girl’s mind but it was overridden by a realization coming over her: _this guy **can** and **will** kill you so don’t be stupid_. The voices—both of them—were very familiar but it still threw Shane for a loop. They were from her game. She was in said game. It had to be a dream because there was absolutely no freaking way. “I don’t like strangers to be calling me by my name,” the young girl said in defiance. “Where are you planning on taking me? And this lady here—what did you do?”

The older man scoffed at her questions. “That, I’m afraid is not for you to know. As for the woman,” he paused briefly and Shane felt she was being watched before he continued, “we felt you would get lonely without human interaction.”

Well, wasn’t that sweet.

The girl fidgeted somewhat on the bed, choosing her next choice of words carefully. “What will happen to me?” she asked. The older man chuckled. Shane had felt the young girl tense, her own hand tightening against her thigh. “You’re going to help us out. Machines like you exist to be used. What happens to you after that, god only knows.. Assuming _you people_ even have a god, that is.” The hand that tightened suddenly closed into an even tighter, solid fist. Damn, what a prick, Shane thought. She had half a mind to get up and strike the man in his jaw—but she knew better. Even with her hand as a fist, she couldn’t really move, almost as if there was a weight on her body that held her down (or back, even).

“All I can really do is seek out and find the Gnosis,” the girl claimed. “I can’t help you with _anything_!”

The older man briefly snickered, an ill-boding tone filling his voice: “That may be true. But this part of you is a little different. We’d like to have a word with the man you have hidden inside of you.”

Audibly, the little girl gasped, fear and distress evident in her voice. This readily put Shane in a sense of alarm but for a reason she didn’t know. The older man snorted at the girl’s response before speaking once more. “In any case, you’d best be keeping yourself alive as long as possible. ‘He’ will be arriving soon.” With that last bit said, the older man—Margulis--left the room as the sound of a door opening and closing and locking shut was heard. Shane opened her eyes (surprised by the fact that they stayed closed the entire time), focusing on the gray-colored ceiling above her. The dark-skinned woman turned her head to see the small back of a pink-haired girl sitting next to her. Her head had dipped forward, her shoulders slumped downwards in dejection.

“Mommy,” the girl murmured softly as she brought her hands up to her face. “I want to go home to the lab..” Sensing movement behind her, she looked over her shoulder and turned partially. Shane sat up, rubbing the back of her own neck. Her face was twisted in an obvious grimace (due to a possible headache, it seemed) as her eyes stared ahead and were filled with.. awe? The pink-haired girl—MOMO--tilted her head at the older woman’s eyes then smiled gently. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

Shane blinked before looking at the little girl, a crooked yet awkward grin growing on her face. She looked rather surprised to see her. “Yeah… just **peachy** ,” the dark-skinned woman said only to regret her choice of words immediately.

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 **Author’s Notes** : Kudos and reviews and comments are loved~! Thanks for reading!


	3. Escape, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An rescue mission and a deciding point.

“Were you kidnapped too?”

Shane lifted her gaze, nose deep in the food tray before her and looked to the pink-haired girl sitting on the bed by the desk. MOMO tilted her head as she fidgeted under her gaze. The older girl wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, clearing her throat. “Well… I don’t know why,” she answered honestly. Her eyes glanced to the cell door behind her, narrowing her eyes. But why here? Why now? Shane shook her head then held the half eaten tray of food to the Realian. “You should eat too. Keep your strength up.” MOMO shook her head as she looked at the food again as her gold eyes scanned it over.

“No, thank you and I appreciate your concern but… uhm, what if the food was tampered with?”

The pink-haired girl squeaked in surprise once Shane belted out a horrified scream, dropping the tray and spilling the food on the floor; the tray clattering loudly. She had stood up, hands tightly gripped into fists as she cursed through gritted teeth—one curse was “a goddamn waste of good food to fuck with” and the other: “If I’m poisoned, I’m gonna kick somebody’s ass!”

Outside of the cell, two U-TIC soldiers stood guard as one peered in the window, glaring at the dark-skinned girl in annoyance. “Shut up and sit down!” he barked at her. Shane turned to his direction and narrowed her eyes before pointing at him, a low hiss of “you shut up” being her response. She was fairly certain the same guard had bit back a curse. MOMO, at this time, stood up once the older girl’s shoulders slumped downward.

“I’m so sorry,” the Realian said apologetically, even bowing to show she was sincere. “I expressed my concern and got you in trouble.” Brief as it was.”I had already scanned the food and found nothing of the poisonous sort.” MOMO watched Shane pace for a moment, her round features contorted in thought before waving her hand dismissively.

“It’s alright. I trust you. I didn’t taste anything weird… although it was pretty bland. Your judgment was spot on, kiddo.” Gold eyes softened as the older girl grinned in her direction.

“I’m glad,” MOMO said, “but it’s strange to put trust—a lot of it—into someone you just met. I don’t even know your name!”

Oh yeah. Shane inwardly smacked her forehead. Her hunger overrode any sort of rational introductions. Holding out her hand to the pink-haired girl, she smiled warmly. “My name’s Shane. And I trust you because you’re being a good girl even in these circumstances.” Gold eyes widened in surprise, a feeling of joy enveloping her as MOMO shook the other girl’s hand. “Thank you. You can call me MOMO!”

\------------

Afterwards, the two clean up the mess of food and cutlery, setting it in the trash can in the corner of their shared cell. MOMO sat back on the bed once that was done, wiping her hands of gravy sauce as Shane did the same. The older girl took this time to reflect on the day’s events. How in the absolute **fuck** did she get here? Shane knew the “here”--a hidden base known as Pleroma that happened to be hidden for good reason but that was another story entirely. She placed a hand on her temple as the telltale sign of a headache—pain centered against her temple—made itself known.

Recalling the events proved to be difficult (even with her shoddy memory). All Shane could remember, through the foggy haze of memories, were shadows and voices. Muddled as they were. ‘ _Not good_ ,’ she thought to herself. “Are you okay, Shane? Your heart rate suddenly increased..” The dark-skinned girl looked up at MOMO, a look of concern on her gentle features.

She rubbed her temples slowly and as a result, evident exhaustion lined her own features. “No, I’m not okay,” Shane let out a sigh as she continued. “I’m kinda worried. Guess all of what’s happened is settling in.” The pink-haired girl nodded in agreement, watching the older girl sit down next to her on the bed. “I’m worried too.” She observed Shane rub the back of her neck (a nervous tic, perhaps) before her own thoughts grabbed hold of her. MOMO frowned deeply, the words that strange man had said earlier plaguing her.

_(We’d like to have a word with the man you have hidden inside of you)_

She placed a hand against her chest. What did he even mean by that? Her attention turned towards the door as she caught the glimpse of a third guard appear in the window. Shane had her gaze on the door, her eyes narrowed once more. There was something going on outside.

“That’s odd,” the third soldier said to his fellow allies. “B Block hasn’t checked in yet.” MOMO stood up and walked over to the door. “I’ll go check on them. You two, stay right here!” The soldiers said a quick “yes sir” and saluted the departing guard. Standing up on her tiptoes to attempt to look out the window, the Realian asked, “Is something wrong out there?” The guard to the left of the door turned their head and ordered her to sit down in a commanding tone. The pink-haired girl stepped back with her shoulders slumped downwards then walked back over to the bed, a noticeable pout on her soft face.

“There, there. I’m sure it’s nothing,” Shane assured her as she took her small hands into her own.

That was a lie.

As soon as those words left her mouth, Shane looked to the door once her ears caught the sounds of a sudden commotion--fighting--outside. This caused MOMO to look back at the door as well, surprised. The older girl had stood up quickly. The sounds of the soldiers fighting someone went quiet and still. She nudged the younger girl behind her as she squinched her eyes. The two girls stepped to the door, wary all the while. Should she ask who was there? No, that’s how you get hurt. Shane nearly leapt out of her skin as an impassive-looking blond man’s face appeared in the cell door window. She couldn’t help the words “what the fuck” slip out from her lips. MOMO peered out from behind the older girl, looking at the oddly placed man. “Who… are you?” she asked curiously.

“The Contact Subcommittee sent me here to rescue you,” he responded in a deep voice.

“The Contact Subcommittee?” Surprised, MOMO’s hands flew up to her mouth as she gasped at his words. “ **Mommy?!** ” He nodded very briefly before his blue eyes scanned the door. “Stand away from the door. I’m going to break it down.” The pink-haired girl stepped out from behind Shane and held up her hands, shaking them at the man.  
“Wait—you can’t,” the Realian said warningly. “They said an alarm would go off if we tried to force it open.”

Hearing this, the man—who seemed to have geared himself up to break down the door—scanned the door again as his eyes landed on an alarm next to the door. A low hum of annoyance echoed from him. “I guess looks can be deceiving...”

Shane cleared her throat, catching the man’s attention. “If it needs a key, there should be a master key held somewhere in this block or whatever,” the older girl suggested. Next to her, MOMO nodded in understanding as she looked up at the man. “If you can find it..” They watched his head turn to the side and looked down the hallway. Acknowledging the task given to him, he glanced back at the two girls once more.

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll be right back.” The blond man quickly absconded out of their sight, Shane stepping back with a worried expression lining her face. Should she have said anything? It probably didn’t matter.

“So, your mom is really part of that group?” the older girl questioned MOMO. The pink-haired girl looked up at her in delight, affirming her question with a brisk nod. “She is! I’ve missed her so much.” Shane smiled lightly as she walked up to the door and looked out into the hallway as best she could (weird angle and all). “Once we get outta here, I’ll need to find a way home myself. That blond dude is really big. Looked pretty strong too.” She grinned back at MOMO who made a noise of agreement.

  
\-------------

A while later, the blond man had returned to the cell block, master key in hand, as he appeared in the window. His appearance was a little haggard from the multiple run-ins with different guards (thank goodness for old-school stealth, although the cloaking attachment malfunctioned after arriving at the base). This is the (correct) assumption Shane came to. Sliding the key through the lock slot, the door slid open---much to the girls’ collective relief. The blond man stepped inside the cell and knelt down to MOMO’s level as he reached up to tap at an unseen button on the back of his neck. His blue eyes focus on the younger girl’s face, sensors in his pupils scanning her vitals and overall appearance. Shane happened to be next to her, inwardly freaking out at the man’s mechanical arm and lower torso. She also thanked herself for not showing the mild freak out.

“Let me just confirm.. you are the 100-Series Observational Unit Prototype, correct?” he inquired.

A look of discomfort crossed her features as her gaze looked to her boots. “I don’t really.. like that name,” she quietly answered.

“Do you have another one?”

While the pink-haired girl processed the question, Shane observed the open door. Movement by the doorway had caught her attention. The blond man glanced at the older girl before turning around but it was too late. The intruder alarm—loud and piercing through the air—suddenly went off as the arm of the guard slumped by the door fell to the side. Shane gritted her teeth and covered her ears. ‘ _Wow, that alarm is just as obnoxiously loud even within the game_ ,’ she mused to herself. The entire cell block’s lights had turned an unsettling shade of red as well.

“We’ll talk later,” the blond man stood up, glancing at the girls as he turned to leave the cell. “Let’s go!”

“MOMO!”

  
Halting in his departure, he looked over his shoulder at the pink-haired girl who spoke once again: “Daddy calls me MOMO…” She glanced to the side, placing a hand on her chest. A shadow of sadness crossed her face. “I meant… he called me MOMO.” The blond man nodded at her words then looked over at Shane (who still had her ears covered). She blinked at him, moving her hands away from her ears.

“What about you, miss? Will you stay?”

MOMO looked up at the older girl, said girl scrunching up her nose at the blond man’s words. “That’s a dumb question, sir. And I’m not a ‘miss’. My name is Shane,” she told him as she shook her head. “But if you don’t mind, can I come with you guys? I’m kinda here against my will as well...” Watching him nod, Shane let a sigh of relief escape her. ‘ _Thank god_.’ “But I will warn you both: once you’re out of this room, it will get dangerous from here on out,” the blond man said in warning to the girls. MOMO watched the man’s stoic expression as Shane let her hands ball into fists by her sides.

“Okay,” the dark-skinned girl spoke up. The Realian beside her immediately agreed with a quick dip of her head.

The blond man nodded his head forward in understanding. “Alright… let’s go, MOMO. Shane.” He walked out ahead of the girls who followed right behind him. The pink-haired girl stepped past Shane (who seemed incredibly nervous) and tugged on their rescuer’s sleeve. “If we get into a fight, I’ll support you,” she said once he looked down at her. A look of concern crossed his face as MOMO assured him. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine!”

“We’?” the blond man inquired in surprise. He looked up and behind MOMO to see Shane taking off her jacket and tying the sleeves around her waist. “Yes, ‘we’, my dude.” Finished with that, she knelt down to tuck her sweatpants leg into her rain boots (surprised she managed to keep the items). “I can handle myself too,” she proclaimed as she moved to one of the guards, obviously deceased. A grimace crept onto Shane’s face at this fact.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling a quick prayer, the older girl knelt down again as she took off the ammo belt from the guard’s person. She clipped the belt around her waist on top of the tied sleeves then picked up the machine gun. “Are you sure you can fight though?” she asked the blond man. He blinked at her words. “You look kind of beat up.”

“Don’t concern yourself with me,” he said as he watched the dark-skinned girl reload the machine gun. Shane stared at the gun in slight surprise. “Concentrate on yourselves. We must hurry. Let’s go!”

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Author’s Notes: _**Extremely**_ sorry this chapter took so long to complete! Got hit with a lot of work on top of life stuff. I hope everyone is enjoying reading so far! Thanks for reading~


	4. Escape, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Run, run, run to the end of the line.

**Note** : This took.. a while but I finally updated! Issues with computer on top of work and life did not help at all. The plan is to work on both fics to update every two weeks starting today (schedule willing). Thanks for reading and for sticking around! (deepest apologies)

* * * * * *

It was as if the alarm had gotten louder. Or was it _alarms_? Shane wasn’t too sure, only bothered that it was still going. She was also certain the whole base would be after them soon. The dark-skinned woman followed close behind the blond man—MOMO right behind her—into an adjacent larger room from the small hallway that housed the cells. An enormous green machine stood near an ascending ladder, causing the older man to stop once the machine (a Mercurio unit, Shane recalled) noticed their presence. It turned towards them, the movement shaking them to their core.  
  
Biting back a curse, Shane glanced around before her eyes landed on the ladder. It was close enough to get to, thankfully. “MOMO, go climb the ladder,” she quickly said, pointing towards said ladder. The cyborg had entered a stance—defensive---behind the dark-skinned woman. MOMO looked at the machine, her gold eyes wide with worry. She shook her head briefly. “Remember what I said: I can fight too!” the pink-haired Realian declared. She held out her hands as a rod—brightly colored with a red gem on top—materialized in her hands. Shane sighed in defeat and nodded at the girl’s words, impressed at how ready she was.

“Stand down and give yourselves up!” the pilot of the Mercurio ordered over the machine’s intercom. “There’s no escape!”  
  
The dark-skinned woman scoffed at the order, moving in front of the older man (much to his concern) and took aim, firing off two grenade rounds. The rounds hit the green metal, immediately exploding soon after; a flurry of rage-filled expletives echoing out from the intercom of the Mercurio. Shane took that moment to switch up and shifted the machine gun to its automatic rounds. As she fired burst shots against the now defending mech, a thought dawned on her: the weapon she held was heavier than she expected it to be.

Shane had held guns before—a semiautomatic handgun once and a six-shot revolver that was kept tucked away in a dresser drawer—but the weight of the one in her hand paled in comparison. Behind her, the blond cyborg had gathered bright blue electrical energy in his metallic hand and lobbed it towards the Mercurio’s shield. “Fall back!” he yelled at the two girls, motioning to MOMO to back up into the hallway behind her. “We’ll have to make a break for it!”

The machine swung down its massive sword, missing the older man and the dark-skinned girl by mere inches as the cyborg jumped back; Shane leaping forward out of the way. This was tough—even the burst fire the dark-skinned girl was putting on (she rolled forward and stood up) didn’t phase the mech at all. Steadying himself, the blond man moved to stand in front of the pink-haired Realian, acting as a shield in case the pilot’s trigger finger twitched. Could they even make a run for it?

To the older man’s surprise, MOMO stepped out from behind him; shiny rod pointing towards the Mercurio. “Mystic powers, grant me a miracle!” she cried out as energy in the form of pink flowers formed around her. Waves of multicolored light surrounded the machine—its target the pilot who suddenly blacked out. Seizing this chance, the cyborg motioned for Shane to move around to the Mercurio’s exposed back; the man firing off two full contact energy blasts to the mech’s upper torso. At the same time, the dark-skinned girl took aim and struck its back with two grenade rounds.

“Get out of the way!”

Shane blinked at the order before catching a glimpse of the blond man gathering energy—white light outlined in light blue—in his mechanical palm and held his hand above his head. The light grew and grew as MOMO shielded her eyes from said light. ‘ _That’s so bright!_ ’ she inwardly commented. The dark-skinned girl noted the stance the cyborg had taken: this was an all-out attack! Shane immediately shouldered her gun and made a running jump over the nearby railing just as the older man punched the floor, releasing the energy which flowed to the Mercurio. The machine was soon engulfed by the bright electrical attack, causing the pilot to cry out in alarm and pain.

“Damnit,” the pilot seethed as he attempted to retaliate if not for the fact of the machine’s systems malfunctioning. He cursed again, shielding his face once the side console exploded next to him. The Mercurio kneeled down and finally went down, smoke rising from it, sparks jumping from spots dotted from multiple bullet holes

He sighed deeply, standing down and flexing his metal hand. ‘ _The pilot may be dead due to smoke inhalation unless that last attack took him out._ ’ He grimaced at the thought then looked over at MOMO. The pink-haired girl smiled in relief that it was over, for now. The sound of distress from over the railing caught their attention as MOMO ran over to said railing, catching sight of Shane pushing herself up from the floor. The dark-skinned girl looked to her left to see a guard plus another smaller mech that resembled a red crab—and they saw her as well.

“Oh fuck.”

Shane hissed at the pain in her back, reloading her gun. She stepped back once the guard and mech moved over to apprehend her. She noticed a yellow block in the corner near her, an obvious electric warning sign on its side. An impish thought ran through her head before a nervous chuckle slipped through her lips.

“Hey you! Stand down right now!” the guard commanded while the automatic crab mech readied itself—just in case. The dark-skinned girl sneered before speaking up defiantly: “ **HELL NO!** ”

At her refusal, the guard promptly shot at the girl; Shane ducking down and scrambling out of harm’s way. She sucked in a breath once the crab mech opened fire on her as well, huffing when she saw concentrated holes in the wall where her head was. Shane turned—once she was a good foot or so away with the guards close behind—and shot a couple rounds past them . The human guard hurled an expletive, not realizing her target was behind him: the bright yellow block. The block exploded into a burst of electricity and caught the guards, shocking them both.

Shane, in her surprised state, managed to run up the stairs soon after and fell face first into the floor. She breathed out an obvious sigh of relief laced with a pained noise. ‘ _That was incredibly dumb and very brave_ ,’ she told herself.

“Shane, are you okay?!”

The dark-skinned girl lifted her head to view a concerned MOMO quickly making her way over to her prone form, the blond cyborg man close behind. She responded with a simple thumbs up. The Realian smiled lightly at the gesture.

“That was a job well done. Your quick thinking saved you,” the man stated plainly. He gave Shane a brief once over, and finding no major injuries, shook his head. “But do **not** do it again, understand?” Shane huffed an answer that was neither yes or no but it wouldn’t have mattered as she stood up. It was a risk that was taken that turned into a lucky break. But her pride was still intact so that was a win-win. The cyborg led the two girls back through the cell block and to the ladder Shane had pointed out during the firefight.

It was the same ladder he had taken after arriving at the base that traced back to a lone door that led to a short bridge above a cathedral down below. The stoic blond was in front, MOMO in the middle, and the other girl was leading behind.

Once close to the door, however, a look of apprehension crossed his face as he held up his human hand to stop their approach. “Wait,” he whispered. Blue eyes—his scanners—took note of the multiple guards and another large mech located at the exit ahead of them. Thankfully they weren’t seen yet.

“Three enemy entities,” the cyborg’s ears picked up. “An enhanced cyborg, a child-model Realian, and a human female. Our mission is to prevent them from getting past this point. Aggressive measures are prohibited. Attacking the Realian and the human is strictly prohibited.” The older man scoffed lightly. He gestured for the girls to move back to the ladder. “These guys are certainly not idiots,” he mused quietly. “Their response time is quick. They also change their routes. Looks like I really have my work cut out for me this time.”

“So what should we do?” Shane asked. As if she didn’t know well enough. The blond stoic looked at the older girl. “We’ll have to turn back and go through the lower room you fell in.” She sighed but nodded in understanding as the dull ache in her lower back and legs.

‘ _Once all this is said and done, my legs will be so sore after_ ,’ she grimly thought to herself.

* * * * * *

Walking back through the cell block—the alarms apparently **much** louder than before—and making their way down into the larger room, Shane muttered a quick apology to the unconscious guard and crab-like mech, both twitching in response. She took a glance around the room, noting the different artifacts kept behind glass or blocked off; obviously important. ‘I _’ve always wondered why these old-looking things would be on a random base like this_ ,’ she pondered internally. The three of them went through another doorway that led to an adjacent hall with three areas: a room full of crates, a locked door, and a room Shane remembered as the security room of the area. “Where do we go now?” MOMO questioned the cyborg, her voice laced with panic.

As the older girl opened her mouth to speak, the voice of a guard behind the closed door startled her: “I think the intruders went this way! **Find them!** ”

“There!” Shane hissed under her breath and pointed at the security room door. She walked—ran--past the older man and the pink-haired girl into the room as they followed after her; the door closing behind them. Once inside the room, the blond cyborg briefly looked out the window before ducking down as several armed guards filled the hallway. “They’re gone!” one guard said in disbelief. “Where did they go?!”

‘In here, dummies,’ the dark-skinned girl commented to herself, a crooked smirk creeping onto her face. MOMO knelt beside her while the older man knelt in front of them by the door and a terminal. Curiosity lined the pink-haired Realian’s small face as she studied the blond man’s features, most notably his arm and legs. “Umm,” she began to say. This made him look at her. “Are you a military Realian?”

“No, an ex-human,” he replied, briefly turning to MOMO. “Ex-human?” Observing her head tilt, he continued (mindful of the guards outside) quietly. “A cyborg. An an ancient relic.” He lifted his mechanical hand, moving his fingers and spinning his wrist. “I registered as an organ donor without giving it much thought, and they resurrected me after my death.” Shane watched this movement of his and internally the older man felt somewhat embarrassed.

“That’s so cool,” the dark-skinned girl said, evidently impressed. She did however squint her eyes at the mention of him dying and being brought back to life (but she already knew that).

“Was it because of that infamous Life Recycling Act?” MOMO asked. He nodded in reply. “Yeah. The Species Preservation Act came about thanks to the mess that old law caused.”

“It was an unneeded mess,” Shane quipped. The cyborg frowned deeply—his own way of agreeing with her. The pink-haired Realian fidgeted in place, her hands on top of her knees. “Umm...” He glanced at the younger girl. “You still haven’t… told us your name.” The older man slow blinked, confused for a moment. He didn’t see a reason as to why he would give his name; considering they wouldn’t see each other after the mission was complete. MOMO **was** also a child, Shane as well (even though she was older). So he indulged her question.

“It’s Ziggurat 8,” he said.

“Ziggurat 8…?” The pink-haired girl’s brow wrinkled slightly at the mention of his “name”. “You’re a real human but your name sounds more like a model number.” The blond man raised an eyebrow at her. With a gentle clap of her hands, she spoke up: “I know! How about we call you ‘Ziggy’? Instead? Z-I-G-G-Y. It’s short for Ziggurat.” The older girl nodded and mused that it was definitely easier to remember. Their words went unheard by the blond cyborg. His thoughts went elsewhere, back to the before times, before he died. Back to a simple, happier time.

_\--He watches a young boy play with a brown and white papillon puppy, obvious joy written on the boy’s round face. The puppy yips and wags its furry tail. “Thanks, Dad!” the boy—short brown hair tucked under a blue baseball cap—says as he picks up the puppy. He grins once the puppy licks his face._

“ _I wanted to get you a real one if I could, but,” he sighs in defeat, “I just couldn’t get one...” His son shakes his head quickly, shifting the dog to his right side. “Oh no, it’s great, Dad! He’s so cute!” The feeling of regret leaves him at the boy’s words. “Hey, Dad, what’s his name?” he asks curiously. “Did you give him one yet?”_

“ _Nexus 6,” he responds. The boy scrunches up his nose at the name. “That’s just his model number, isn’t it? That makes him sound like a robot.”_

_He admits to himself that it does. The boy looks up at the sky, deep in thought before looking back at his father, grinning brightly. “I know! How about ‘Nex’? It’s short for Nexus 6!” He holds up the yippy dog who wags his tail eagerly, happy for the new name. “What do you think, huh, Dad?”_

_Surprise lines the man’s face. “Y-yeah,” he says with a small smile. “That’s a great name!”_

“ _Really?” His son’s face brightens as the biggest smile grows on his face as he sets the puppy—Nex—down. “Come on, Nex! Let’s go!” The boy runs off; Nex chasing after him, his laughter filling the park. The man snorts once his son trips and immediately walks over to check on him--_

He blinked, snapping out of his reverie as he looked off to the side. ‘Why did I remember that?’ Ziggy thought to himself. Especially that particular memory. “Do you think it sounds like a puppy’s name?” MOMO asked the blond man, noticing his silence. She looked back at Shane who shrugged her shoulders. He shook his head.

“No,” he finally said as he stood up. “Call me whatever you want.”

The dark-skinned girl briefly smiled at the blond cyborg. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I’d prefer to call you ‘Ziggy’ honestly.”

“Ziggy it is!” the pink-haired Realian happily exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “You’ll sound a lot more human now!” He looked outside the window to observe the hallway—his back to the girls. The name ‘Ziggy’ dud have a nice ring to it and he felt a bit thankful for it.

“Well,” Ziggy said, “Looks like they’re gone.”

* * * * * *

**Note** : GOODNESS, I didn’t think I would finish this chapter at all. Glad I did. Enjoy this update~!


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